Sivut

Saturday, 24 June 2017

Prepare a Finnish Style Breakfast

Hope you are enjoying the best Midsummer weekend! I tend to spend holiday weekends at home: I keep no shopping days, do crafts that need more concentrating and relaxed mind, read, watch DVDs and prepare good food. Yesterday I sew all day listening to top 100 Finnish favorites from the radio. These kind of slow floating days are perfect for mind. After a day or two practicing silent no fuss life I feel I have gathered so much energy and inspiration. Sometimes there can be too many activities and ideas. Slow days that give space for thoughts are essential for creativity and development of ideas.

To celebrate long weekends and slow, yet creative, lifestyle I have gathered a luxurious breakfast table with the most simple ingredients and easy recipes. My inspiration comes from everyday Finnish breakfast but instead of just grabbing the most important meal of the day straight from the fridge I have put effort on display and preparing the dishes with care. There is a difference between microwaved and long cooked kettle porridge, you see. Tasty Finnish berries in a soup, oatmeal porridge and rye bread are classics. And as every luxurious breakfast this one too ends up with strong black coffee and sweet rhubarb pie. What a better way to start a good day!

Oatmeal porridge with Berry Soup

For the porridge

2 dl Oatmeal

2 tbsp Wheat bran

1/2 L Water

Seeds (pumpkin, sunflower..)

Put together oatmeal, whet bran, water and pressed seeds to a kettle. Cook until it starts to boil, stir properly. When boiling turn to milder temperature and let cook properly. The longer you cook on mild temperature the better the result.

For the Berry Soup

1 L Water

400 g Berries (I used raspberry, strawberry,

blackcurrant and redcurrant mix plus one rhubarb)

3 tbsp Potato flour

Sugar

Vanilla sugar

Put water and berries to a kettle and cook. Mix together cold water and potato flour. When berries and water are boiling take the kettle off and pour in the potato flour mix and stir properly. You don´t have to use all potato flour in case the soup begins to look thick with less. You can also add more potato flour if needed. Be sure to mix in the flour when the soup is still hot. Mix in sugar and vanilla sugar according to taste.

Bread selection

Rye bread is very Finnish and one of the things most Finns miss when they are abroad. I also put crisp rye bread to the table as I love it and I always have it in my kitchen cabinets. For the white bread I chose oat bread rolls.

Because I don´t eat meat except fish and seafood, I chose vegetarian substitute for cold cuts and sausage. Other quite typical fillings for breakfast sandwich are cheese, cucumber, paprika, tomato and butter. I also boiled eggs that can be sliced to a bread or eat separately.

For drink I have got blueberry juice that is made of Finnish blueberries. What is special about Finnish berries is that when sun shines through the midsummer nights they grow in a relatively short time gaining exceptionally good and strong taste .

Then it is time for strong black coffee and rhubarb pie. Blueberry, lingonberry, strawberry and rhubarb pies are traditional in Finland. What is best is that they are super easy to make and you can vary the fillings according to the seasons.

Rhubarb Pie

~5 Rhubarbs

150 g Butter

1 1/2 dl Sugar

3 1/2 dl Wheat flour

1 tsp Vanilla sugar

1 tsp Baking powder

1/2 dl Milk (you can use oatmilk)

1 Egg

Peel and chop the rhubarbs. Put rhubarbs and little bit of sugar to a bowl and cook in microwave oven for few minutes until the rhubarbs are a bit softer. Melt the butter. Mix together sugar, flour, baking powder and vanilla sugar. Pour in the melted butter and mix properly. Separate about 1 1/2 dl of the pastry. To the rest of the pastry add milk and egg. Mix properly. Butter a pie mold and press the pastry to the bottom. Then spread the rhubarbs evenly on the top of the pastry. Sprinkle the separated pastry on top (makes nice crispy texture). Bake in preheated oven 180 Celsius degrees until the pie has gotten a bit of a golden brown color. Serve with cream, ice cream or vanilla sauce.

Happy Saturday and Midsummer everyone! There is a little bit sunshine outdoors so I am heading for a walk :)